Our View: Think twice before changing Rockford trash pickup

Monday

Jul 22, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 22, 2013 at 9:22 PM

There are some really important things for Rockford aldermen to consider when voting for a new garbage-hauling contract. Rock River Environmental Services has had the job since 1999, and the city hasn’t rebid the contract since then. Both RRES and Advance Systems are bidders.

There are some really important things for Rockford aldermen to consider when voting for a new garbage-hauling contract. Rock River Environmental Services has had the job since 1999, and the city hasn’t rebid the contract since then. Both RRES and Advance Systems are bidders.

Rockford has excellent garbage pickup at a reasonable price. We never hear any grumbles about garbage pickup.

Rockfordians like the current arrangement because they can put out just about everything for pickup, from recyclables and household garbage to lawn clippings, old refrigerators, stoves, you name it. Having a “take it all, every week” pickup system has eliminated the practice some landlords and tenants had of putting piles of furniture, old carpets and mattresses out on the curb where it would sit, sometimes for weeks, until it could be picked up. It has also eliminated most of the “midnight” dumping that took place in alleys and on back streets.

The current contract holder takes the city’s refuse to the Winnebago Landfill, which is part of the same firm, RRES, a local company. Winnebago County collects millions of dollars in “host fees” from that landfill. In 2012, $3.5 million in host fee money benefited a variety of Rockford and Winnebago County interests, including $460,000 to the BMO Harris Bank Center, $100,000 to the Burpee Museum, $100,000 to Nicholas Conservatory and many more.

If the garbage were to be sent to the Orchard Hills Landfill, host fees from Rockford’s trash would assist Ogle County. We like Ogle County just fine, but we don’t think Rockfordians should subsidize it. Aldermen should stipulate that the garbage hauler chosen continue to take Rockford garbage to Winnebago Landfill.

We know that the cost of garbage pickup may have to rise if we want to retain the current level of service. There have been suggestions to go to a “tote cart” system in which residents would get different size containers based on how much trash they normally have. If they wanted to throw away more than that, they’d have to buy a sticker.

This won’t work. If the home is owned by a landlord, and in many neighborhoods large percentages of homes are owned by absentee landlords, it’s likely that tenants will get only small containers. Extra trash is likely to end up in an alley, on a country road or on a riverbank.

And if weekly large-item pickup goes away, prepare to start seeing household appliances decorating our city and country roads. We don’t think you’ll like it. Anyone thinking of moving here will be repulsed.

We ask aldermen to consider what we already have when deciding who will get the next garbage contract and what provisions it will have. We believe it ain’t broke. So don’t fix it.